Photos: More bald eagle sightings reported on Staten Island

STATEN ISLAND -- American bald eagles, those grand symbols of national pride, seem to be making themselves right at home more and more on Staten Island.

One was spotted in Dongan Hills, near Chapin Woods, over the weekend.

Another birder saw four on Moses Mountain, in the Greenbelt, in recent days.

And yet another smaller eagle and its offspring were seen on the grounds of Mount Loretto, Pleasant Plains, last month.

Neither are the eagles shy about sticking around.

Dongan Hills community activist Steven LoBaido, who championed the preservation of Chapin Woods, said the eagle he saw Sunday stayed in the area, perching on a tree and eating fish, perhaps from a nearby pond, for about eight hours.

"They've been here three years in a row," said LoBaido. "It really means a lot to see them. I can't describe it. It fills my heart up. I get very emotional about it."

"Awesome!" was how Susan Burek, a new birder from Eltingville, described seeing a pair of eagles at Mount Loretto.

Walking her dog two weeks ago, binoculars and camera in hand, she spotted the majestic creatures and snapped away.

"It was an awesome feeling," she said.

For birder Anne Purcell of Randall Manor, spotting four in a single day was beyond wonderful.

"It is always exciting and heartwarming to spot a bald eagle, let alone four in one day," said Ms. Purcell, "especially since they were once considered to be a threatened species in New York."

Bald eagle sightings are on the upswing here, said Ed Johnson, director of science at the Staten Island Museum, St. George.

"Our conservation efforts are paying off," said Johnson.

He said with the disuse of harmful sprays, like DDT, populations of eagles, osprey and other birds "are starting to rebound."

"Eagles are not an endangered species any longer," said Johnson. "You can see them virtually any month."

More so in September and October, he said, as the birds migrate south -- sometimes only as far southern New York and northern New Jersey, along the Delaware River.

"They hang around the water for fish," Johnson said.

Some of the eagles spotted recently appear to have been tagged.

If so, said Johnson, it was likely done by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service when the birds were chicks to "keep track of them" as adults.

Johnson said he last saw an eagle in May, in Wolfe's Pond Park.

"It's always a thrill to see an eagle," said Johnson. "It never gets old."

Meanwhile, LoBaido said he and his neighbors have been joking that since the national parks have been shut down over the Washington Obamacare/budget turmoil, the eagles have "decided to come here instead."

Maybe so. After all, Staten Island is known far and wide as the "Borough of Parks."